In order to curb any misuse of the new feature, the company has decided that when you’re using the new BFF mode, you’ll only see people of the same sex. Users will be asked to specify whether they are looking for friends, dates or both when using the app so everyone shown in the BFF section will have selected friendship, rather than just dating.

Finding friends works the same way as finding a date. You swipe right on the people you are interested in and when you get a match, you can start chatting.

It’s not the first time a dating service has included a friendship option but it’s the first real use of the infamous swipe for finding friends. While swiping right or left is usually based on judging the other user’s appearance, people will need to be less shallow in searching for friends for this feature to really pay off.

In the app, users will see their friendship conversations in green, while conversations from potential dates will be in yellow.

The BFF mode is live now on the app and users can activate it from the settings section.

Amanda Connolly is a reporter for The Next Web, currently based in London. Originally from Ireland, Amanda previously worked in press and editorial at the Web Summit. She’s interested in all things tech, with a particular fondness for lifestyle and creative tech and the spaces where these intersect. Twitter